Reel



1951 J. JOHNSON ETAL REEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 5, 1947 Aug. 21, 1951 J. E. JOHNSON ETAL REEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5, 1947 Patented Aug. 21, 195] trainee F3;atoliirs'onand Charles R *ia ml, 10bit), :assignors to Benjamin "Reel Prodicitg, 1110:, Cleveland,- Ohio,- a

Ohio

corporation of hiiiilieatidisfiii il 3, 1947,-= se"ria1- 1ro. 7%95102 This invention-relates to reels, and more particularly to reels of the type whereon flexible members, such'as electric'wire cdrds are wound and from which the cords maybe unwound in order to enablethe plug-in connectors oi'said cords to be secured to the "appropriate receptacles 'for operating various electrical appliances.

The general object of our "invention is to produce ar'eel and reel "assembly which is 'sfmple-in construction and economical *of production and which is convenient of manipulation. -More specifically our invention-relates the type of reel shown, described and *claim'dlh U. S. Patent No. 2,530,773; issued Novemberfll, 1950, and to certain features of construction and *arrange- 7 r v V and'looking in the directicn oi the arrows; Fig 3 'a-'section al view taken on the line'3 j3 of' Fig'. 2' nd looking in the direction'of the arrow a'='detai1 in section taken'on the line 4 'g;-2"and look ing in the direction- 0f the a-rrcws; and Fig. 5 a detail in sectional plan v "wjof jtlie' upper portion of the lower slip ring I pportin'g-niember.

' Inthe embodiment of ur -inventionfs'hown and described herein, the reelis; of the ype wherein an electric Wire cord is i:vdunii'uiion=iiiie reel hub or'drurn, from which asse tsund,fagainst the resistance of a spirany' swing, b'y' 'a pull exerted upon the sfaid c'ord {Ihesaid embodiment includes a novel mannerjoi effecting aconnection between-the inner lids of "theccrd wiresa-nd wires which may-1 the said reel to a desired point bf structions of thereel-dru ndof supporting the winding *"spririg' v which cooperates with the-rate to-"retain-th'e reel spool against rotation byfsaid spring.

The particulars wherein the foregoing1=advantages may be realized willtnow be described, it being noted that,forconvenienceof description, the terms top, bottom, upper and flower? ovel j'con' willbe'employed herein in setting forth therelations of the parts to one another but without any intention thereby of limitin thepositioris which said part shall actually occupy when the reel is in use.

Describing by reference characters the various parts 'sh'ow'nin the drawings, Ill denotes the cylindrical side wall of a housing wherein the operating parts ofthe reel are located, it being noted that the bottom wall H is provided with a central opening l2, for access to the parts within thedrum-or hub portion of the reel. The housingisprovi'ded with a cover plate [3 which may be re'movably secured upon the top of thei'cylin drical wall It in any desirable manner, as byiprovidin'g-thesame with a central opening M which is adapted. to fit about the top of the central post IE on which the reel is mounted for rotation, being detachably secured in place bymans of=a nut is threaded on top of saidipost, a washer H interposed between the bottom of said nut and thesaid cover and the bottom of the-cover in turn being supported upon the top of'a-eollar or -sle'eve is which surrounds the upper end of-the post and 'isprovided with a horizontal circular flange H3 at its bottom, the said 'fiange in-turn being supported upon a shoulder provided atthe top of an annular enlargement 20 of-th'e said post.

Rot'atably mounted upon the hollow-shaftl5 is the spool portion of the reel. Thisportionfias shown, is made of an upper section-and a lower section, preferably formed of sheet metal. The upper section is shown as provided with the vertical cylindrical wall 2! of the hub or drum. poritidn-from-the upper end of which there extends a radially outwardly projecting annular retaining' member :22. From the bottom of the hub ordrum po'rtion 2| an annular-plate-23 extends radially inwardly, the same having a central opening "24 whereby it -is rotatably received upon'an enlarged cylindrical 'section 29 of the shaftlB, the top of the said section havingan annular horizontal shoulder upon'which the base of the sleeve 16 is supported. The lower spool section of the reel comprises a vertical cylindrical Wall 25 which, togetherwith the Wall, constitutes the outer cylindrical wall of-the hub or drum. Anannular retaining member 26 proj'cts -radially outwardly from the bottom of the Wall"25,-forming with the wall 22 the retaining members of the ends of the hub or drum. "An annu-lanplate '2'I, similarto the plate 23,ex; tends-i wa ly: a i rq sdu hi ir. opening 28 wherebyit is rotatably received'lipon the enlarged portion 20 of the shaft IS. The plates 23 and 21 may be secured together in any convenient manner, as by spot welding, or by the means hereinafter to be described in connection with the means for delivering current from the wire cord 29 wound upon the hub or drum to conducting wires extending through the hollow shaft |5. The plates 23 and 21 also provide jointly the thickness of metal capable of supporting the drum upon top of the supporting member 50, to be described hereinafter.

30 denotes an annular plate surrounding the sleeve I8 and supported at its inner edge upon the flange IS. The outer circular periphery of the plate extends nearly to the wall 2| and is there provided with a downwardly extending flange 3| by means of which and the flange |9 the plate is supported by and spaced from the plate 23. This space is provided for the accommodation of a pawl 32 mounted upon a pivot stud 33 carried by the plate 23, the pawl having a nose 32 presented toward cooperating groups of ratchet teeth |9 projecting radially outwardly from and formed on the flange l9. A coil spring 34 is connected at one end to the tail of the pawl and at its other end to a stud 35 which is shown as formed by a tongue struck from the plate 21 and extending through an opening 35 provided therefor in the plate 23.

In the space defined by the drum wall 2| and the cover plate l3, there is located the spring 31, of the spiral clock-spring type by means of which the drum will be rotated in a direction to wind the wire cord 29 thereupon. One end of the spring is anchored, as by means of a rivet 38, to the sleeve l8 while its other end is connected to the wall 2| as by means or a rivet 40 (see Fig. l)

4| denotes a lower annular supporting member of insulating material which is non-rotatably mounted on the bottom of the shaft l5, being supported thereupon by means of a washer which surrounds the lower reduced portion of the shaft and which is fitted within an annular recess 4| in the bottom of the member 4|, the lower end of the shaft being peened outwardly as shown at |5 thereby to grip the washer and thus afford means whereby the shaft supports the supporting member 4| and the other portions of the reel assembly.

The lower supporting member is provided with inner and outer concentric conducting slip rings 42 and 43, respectively (such as shown in our application Serial No. 725,576, new Patent No. 2,530,773, dated November 21, 1950), embedded therein and extending to the upper surface thereof. The outer of these rings is provided with a leg 43 extending downwardly therefrom and havin an inturned flange 44 at the bottom; and the inner of said rin s is provided with a similar downwardly extending leg 42 having an outturned flange 42 at its bottom, the flanges 44 and 42 having screws 45 and 46 threaded thereinto, respectively, by means of which conductor wires 41 and 48, respectively, are secured to said flanges, these wires being enclosed within an insulating sheath 49 extending upwardly through the hollow shaft I5.

50 denotes a second supporting member of insulating material, also located within the wall 25 and having inner and outer conducting plates 5| and 52, respectively, the said conducting plates having brushes 53 and 54, respectively, secured thereto and the ends of which brushes are adapted to engage the slip rings 42 and 43, respectively.

To these plates 5| and 52 conductor wires 29' and 29 from the wire cord 29 are connected, as by means of clamp screws 5| and 5| the wall 25 being provided with an opening (see Fig. 3) through which the inner end of the wire cord extends.

The lower portion of the supporting member 4| is shown as projecting within the central opening |2 of the housing. The upper supporting member 50 is conveniently supported from the annular plates 23, 21 as by means of elongated rivets 55, and a thrust washer 56 is interposed between an annular shoulder on the bottom of a lower enlarged portion 20b of the shaft l5 and the top of the lower annular supporting member 4|. 7

The side |U of the housing is provided with an opening through which the outer end of the wire cord 29 extends and which wire cord is shown as provided with any standard type of plug connector, such as indicated at 51.

As is the case with the reel construction shown in our aforesaid application Serial No. 725,576, the insulating supporting members, and the elements whereby current supplied to the conductors of the wire cord 29 may be delivered to the conductors or wires 49, are located within the central or drum portion of the reel, an arrangement which not only protects the current-transmitting elements from access of dust thereto, but which also contributes to the compactness of the entire reel assembly.

Still further, the manner in which the spool or reel is constructed enables the same to be produced as an assembly-line proposition, from light sheet metal, but which, due to the manner in which it is constructed, possesses all of the strength and rigidity which will enable it to withstand usage without deterioration over long periods of time.

Having, thus described our invention, what we claim is? 1. A reel assembly comprising a spool having an upper and a lower section, the upper section comprising a vertical cylindrical drum member, a retaining member projecting radially outwardly from the top of the upper end of the cylindrical drum member and an annular plate extending radially inwardly from the bottom of said drum member, and the lower section having a vertical cylindrical drum member forming, with the first drum member, a complete drum, a retaining member extending radially outwardly fromthe bottom of the second drum member and an annular wall extending radially inwardly from the top of said second drum member, a central vertical shaft extending through the radially inwardly. extending plates and upon which shaft the reel spool is mounted for rotation, a sleeve non-rotatably mounted on the said shaft and having an annular flanged base located above the annular inwardly extending plate of the first drum section, an annular plate mounted upon the said sleeve and supported at its inner portion by thesaid flanged base and etxending radially outwardly from said sleeve, a housing for the said spool, a cover for said housing, and a spiral spring of the clock-spring type interposed between the cover and the last mentioned plate and supported by the latter and secured at its inner end to the said sleeve and its outer end to the said spool.

2. In the reel assembly set forth in claim 1, the portion of the shaft between the said annular plates being provided with circumferentially inwardly extending plate of the first section and the plate extending radially outwardly from the sleeve and having a nose presented toward and adapted to engage the ratchet projections on the flange, a supporting member located within the space between the two last mentioned plates and adjacent to the outer edge of the plate which is supported by said flange, and a spring connecting the tail of the pawl with the said supporting member.

4. In the reel set forth in claim 3, the annular plate which is mounted upon the flanged base of the sleeve and which extends radially outwardly therefrom having a downwardly extending flange at its outer periphery adapted to engage the radially inwardly extending plate of the upper spool section, thereby to support such peripheral portion in spaced relation with respect to the last mentioned plate.

5. A reel assembly comprising a spool having a cylindrical drum member and an annular plate extending radially inwardly from said drum member, a central vertical shaft extending through the radially inwardly extending plate and upon which shaft the reel spool is mounted for rotation, a sleeve non-rotatably mounted on the said shaft and having an annular flanged base located above the annular inwardly extending plate of the spool, an annular plate mounted upon the said sleeve and supported at its radially inner portion by the said flanged base and extending radially outwardly from said sleeve, the outer edge of said second annular plate having a flange formed thereon extending axially inwardly of the reel to support such edge on said spool and form an annular chamber in the reel, and ratchet type lock means for the spool positioned in the said chamber.

6. A reel assembly comprising a spool having a cylindrical drum member and a plate extending radially inwardly from said drum member, a central vertical shaft extending through the radially inwardly extending plate and upon which shaft the reel spool is mounted for rotation, a sleeve non-rotatably mounted on the said shaft and having an annular flanged base, a disc mounted upon the said sleeve and supported at its radially inner portion by the said flanged base and extending radially outwardly from said sleeve, the outer edge of said disc having a flange formed thereon extending axially of the reel to support such edge on said spool and form an annular chamber in the reel, and lock means for the spool positioned in the said chamber.

JAMES E. JOHNSON. CHARLES R. YIRAVA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,106,821 Lamb Aug. 11, 1914 2,159,004 Bosch May 23, 1939 2,342,912 White Feb. 29, 1944 2,375,917 Gross May 15, 1945 2,391,840 Meletti Dec. 25, 1945 

